Portfolio Insights:“The West Virginia University Foundation, Incorporated (the “Foundation”) is a public 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization incorporated in 1954. The Foundation’s primary purpose is to enrich the lives of those touched by West Virginia University (the “University”) by maximizing private charitable support and providing services to the University and its affiliated organizations. The Foundation is governed by an independently elected Board of Directors not otherwise affiliated with the University. In carrying out its responsibilities, the Board of Directors of the Foundation employs management, forms policy and maintains fiscal accountability over funds administered by the Foundation.

The Foundation’s endowment consists of over 2,500 individual endowment funds established for a variety of purposes. The endowment includes donor-restricted endowment funds and funds designated by the Board of Directors to function as endowments. Net assets associated with endowment funds, including funds designatedby the Board of Directors to function as endowments, are classified and reported based on the existence or absence of donor-imposed restrictions.” (Source)

Top West Virginia University Foundation, Inc. Endowment Fund Headlines:

1) The West Virginia University Foundation seeks a Senior Vice President for Development/Chief Development Officer to lead a complex and dynamic development operation to even greater levels of success. West Virginia University is a public land grant university serving 32,348 students, which under the leadership of the university’s new president, Gordon Gee, is attracting national prominence for its recent momentum and success.

This is an ideal time to join WVU—a university that is truly “on the move”. It has experienced record year after year fundraising since it embarked on its State of Minds campaign which was publically launched in 2012. As of June 30, alumni and friends of WVU contributed $772.6 million, topping the campaign’s initial goal by $22 million. The board of directors of the Foundation recently approved extending the campaign until December of 2017 with a new goal of $1 billion. (Source)

2) Dec 3, 2014 – December marks the 60th anniversary of the West Virginia University Foundation. Created as an independent organization whose function remains to solicit and receive private gifts and administer them in support of the university, its origins can be traced to WVU’s 13th President, Irvin Stewart, who was instrumental in enlisting educational support from donors and often spoke of the need for private gifts to provide for the future of WVU. Stewart envisioned an organization whose role would extend beyond the custodianship of gifts into the realm of actively seeking support for programs, services, equipment and facilities the state might not be able to fund. Foundation officials say it’s largely because of his efforts that the WVU Foundation was officially incorporated on Dec. 3, 1954. (Source)

3) Richard “Rick” S. Kraich has been appointed vice president for investments and chief investment officer for the West Virginia University Foundation, effective Sept. 13. Kraich comes to Morgantown from Atlanta where he spent the past three years as chief investment officer for Homrich Berg, a wealth management firm. Prior to that, he was senior director of investments for the Georgia Tech Foundation, and spent 25 years in a variety of investment, finance and engineering roles at BellSouth Corp.

“Rick brings a wealth of experience to the CIO position,” said Wayne King, Foundation president and CEO. “I am convinced he will provide the strategic leadership our investment program will need in the years ahead.”

Kraich earned his master’s degree in business administration from the University of Florida and his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst. (Source)

4) West Virginia University Foundation, Morgantown, has made two alternative investment commitments totaling $9 million, said Dorothy Dotson, vice president for investments. The $338 million foundation, which can allocate up to 15% of assets to alternative investments, committed $4 million to Commonfund Realty and $5 million to Sevin Rosen Fund VII. (Source)

5) Apr 6, 2004 – The West Virginia University Foundation will consider directional and long/short hedge funds to fill out its 9% allocation to absolute return strategies if attractive opportunities present themselves, though it has no plans to conduct any searches. (Source)

About Richard C. Wilson

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